The Center has two employees: a part time director and a part time secretary. Technical assistance in answering specific inquiries is provided as needed by experienced engineers and scientists on the staff of the Geotechnical Laboratory (GL) at WES. The Office, Chief of Engineers provides limited Civil Works funding for the SMIAC.
The SMIAC has the technical capability to provide the user community with a comprehensive, readily accessible source of current information within the scope of the Center's activities. The Center accesses three principle sources of information: data files developed and located at the Center, information in the WES Research Library, and the tremendous personal knowledge and experience of the professional staff of the GL, which consists of technical professionals, many with advanced degrees, knowledge of current research, and case-specific experience. Some are considered international experts in their respective subdisciplines.
The day-to-day operation of the Center involves responses to requests for information. These responses take two forms:
The WES Research Library has a collection of over 550,000 items including books, journals, conference proceedings, technical reports, dissertations, specifications and standards, microfilm, and video and audio tapes. Networks and online database services such as DTIC, DIALOG, OCLC, CARL, and the Internet have greatly expanded the resources available to SMIAC.
In addition to the WES Research Library collection, the SMIAC houses a collection of unique materials, including the Arthur Casagrande collection. Dr. Casagrande initiated the soil mechanics program at Harvard University and was instrumental in its development from 1932 until his death. He also served as technical consultant on numerous projects including more than 50 dams in the U.S.
The SMIAC serves the user community through personal technical advisory service via mail, telephone, interoffice communication, or in person.
Requests for general information or data, bibliographies and abstracts are handled by the Center. Highly technical questions are referred to engineering or scientific specialists at WES or others in the scientific community.
No charges are made for letter or telephone inquiries that normally require less than one-half day to answer. Jobs requiring more time are charged on a cost-reimbursable basis.